While the migrants returning to Bihar has put the smile back on their faces, it has also put the Bihar administration on its toes as many of the coronavirus cases reported in the last 10 days are of people who returned from outside the state.
Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Aamir Subhani said Bihar has decided to add more stringent parameters to the existing MHA guidelines pertaining to Lockdown 3.0, which begun in May 4 and will continue till May 17.
Subhani said Bihar will have only Red Zones and Orange Zones and no Green Zones. According to the official, this has been done keeping in mind that students and migrant workers were returning from other states at a time when new coronavirus cases are surfacing from new districts of Bihar.
An analysis of the health department figures has justified the heightened concerns in Bihar. Till April 20, the number of coronavirus infections in Bihar was 113. On May 5, the number has touched 528. Incidentally, April 20 was when the Centre allowed selective relaxation in non-containment areas, including movement of migrant workers within the state.
Six special trains, each carrying between 1,000 and 1,200 passengers, have reached Bihar. This includes the first such train from Jaipur, which arrived at the Danapur railway junction in Patna on May 2. Nine more trains will be reaching Bihar on Tuesday. At least 15,500 people would return to Bihar on these trains.
Left without a job because of the lockdown, the migrant workers are facing a humanitarian crisis. They need to be helped. However, as they are coming from states where cases of infection are higher than Bihar, they need to be screened and effectively quarantined.
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